Morningrise
Morningrise is the second studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Opeth. It was released on June 24, 1996 in Europe by Candlelight Records and on June 24, 1997 in the United States by Century Black. The recording sessions took place at Unisound studio, in Örebro, between March and April 1996, and once more the band produced alongside Dan Swanö. Morningrise was the last Opeth album produced by Swanö. It was also the last Opeth release with drummer Anders Nordin and bassist Johan De Farfalla. Morningrise showcases Opeth's signature style, exploring the dynamics between the combination of black metal and death metal vocals, and guitar parts with lighter progressive and acoustic elements. The album was very well received by critics, with some calling it "epic" and "perfect". Recording and production After touring, Opeth returned home to rehearse frequently, and booked Unisound studios again to record the album.Opeth Biography: Chapter III. Opeth.com. Retrieved June 23, 2011. Morningrise was recorded during March and April 1996 at Unisound in Örebro. They stayed at the residence of the family of Peter Lindgren's girlfriend. Opeth again produced and mixed along with Dan Swanö, similar to how the previous album, Orchid, was recorded. Swanö also engineered the album. This was the last album that Swanö worked on with Opeth.Morningrise Session Diary. Opeth.com. Retrieved July 5, 2011.Morningrise. Opeth.com. Retrieved July 5, 2011. It was also the last album that was recorded with Johan DeFarfalla and Anders Nordin.Opeth Biography: Chapter IV. Opeth.com. Retrieved July 5, 2011. As the release of the first album was delayed, they had already written most part of Morningrise when Orchid was released.Mudrian, Albert. Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces p. 248. Da Capo Press, 2009. ISBN 0-306-81806-X Although some parts of the material recorded date back to 1991, Mikael Åkerfeldt said, "the material we had been writing felt really fresh and new." According to Åkerfeldt, recording Morningrise was "quite boring" because of "the endless drum takes, click track and shit like that." The band spent most of the time in the studio sleeping and smoking. Despite the downtime, Åkerfeldt and Lindgren wrote an instrumental piece that was meant to appear on the album, but they did not have enough time to finish it. Morningrise includes Opeth's longest song ever recorded, "Black Rose Immortal", with a length of 20:15. Artwork Åkerfeldt said that the head of Candlelight went on holiday to Bath, England, and "he actually walked on the bridge or whatever it is". Later, he sent Åkerfeldt a postcard with a color version of the same picture that appears on the cover. The picture is of a Palladian bridge, located in Prior Park.Interview with Mikael Åkerfeldt. Jensmetalpage. Retrieved July 5, 2011. The first pressing was released without the "Opeth" logo on the front cover. Musical style and lyrical themes Along with Orchid, Morningrise shows a sound that is influenced by progressive rock, folk, black metal and death metal, but with more clean vocals than that of the previous record. Despite the singing, Murat Batmaz of Sea of Tranquility magazine said that the song "Black Rose Immortal" "ends with one of Akerfeldt's most violent and longest screams in his career which could only be rivaled by his guesting on Edge of Sanity's Crimson album", and that Opeth created a "dark atmosphere on this album, which is simply unique." The album has a "dark melancholic" sound, and features acoustic and jazz styles.Dupont, Filip. Opeth: Morningrise. Archaic Magazine. Retrieved July 6, 2011. However, according to William York of Allmusic, "Morningrise is, as far as the metal scale goes, possibly their least heavy album". Mikael Åkerfeldt has stated that following the success of this album, he became tired of its style and the number of "copycat" bands using the counterpoint melodies found in this album and its predecessor. He also says that he finds certain sections of Morningrise "unlistenable" and was compelled to change Opeth's sound for My Arms, Your Hearse accordingly.Lamentations DVD interview. Lyrically, the song "The Night and the Silent Water" is about the grandfather of vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt, who had died shortly before the recording of the album. "To Bid You Farewell", the album's final song, was notable at the time for having a lighter sound and featuring no unclean vocals. This album also features Opeth's longest recorded song, "Black Rose Immortal", which lasts over 20 minutes. The reissue bonus track "Eternal Soul Torture" is a demo that was recorded in 1992, and includes some sections that were reused in the studio track "Advent", as well as "In Mist She Was Standing" off of the previous album Orchid. Track listing All lyrics written by Mikael Åkerfeldt except where noted, all music composed by Åkerfeldt and Peter Lindgren. Personnel Opeth * Mikael Åkerfeldt – vocals, guitar * Peter Lindgren – guitar * Johan De Farfalla – bass * Anders Nordin – drums, percussion Production * Opeth – production, mixing, mastering, artwork * Dan Swanö – production, engineering, mixing * Peter In De Betou – mastering * Tuija Lindström – album cover * Lennart Kaltea – booklet * Tom Martinsen – artwork * Timo Ketola – layout Release history Morningrise was released on June 24, 1996 in Europe by Candlelight Records on CD, and on cassette by Mystic Production. In the same year, it was released in Japan by Avalon/Marquee. The album was released on June 24, 1997 in the United States by Century Black. It was reissued in 2000 on CD by Candlelight Records and on LP by Displeased Records. The LP was limited to 1000 copies. These reissues contains the bonus track "Eternal Soul Torture". A special edition was released by Candlelight in 2003. Another LP reissue of Morningrise was released in 2008 by British label Back on Black. References Category:1996 albums